Getting an accurate count of how many people call this region home will affect congressional seats and the distribution of federal funds

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One of the sample banners that the group of students was going to make in Marin City, Calif. on Oct. 16, 2019. Bayside MLK students, part of the Performing Stars club, are working with Dominican University students to make banner artworks for “Marin City Counts.Ó The finished artworks will be placed around the city to draw attention to the importance of participating in the 2020 U.S. Census. (Douglas Zimmerman/Special to Marin Independent Journal)

Just as retailers are staffing up to handle a glut of shoppers this holiday season, so too is the U.S. Census Bureau.

Over the next several months, the agency will hire 5,000 people to work at its offices in San Francisco and Oakland — part of a larger hiring spree intended to bring on 500,000 census takers and office workers across the country ahead of the 2020 census this spring.

The new hires, who will earn between $20-$30 an hour locally, will help make sure the federal agency gets an accurate count of the millions of people who call the Bay Area home — knocking on doors in hundreds of neighborhoods to encourage residents to participate. The work is important because the data helps determine how much federal funding the region gets for schools, hospitals, road maintenance and more, and what congressional districts look like.

“If you’re not counted or we miss you, it’s literally money coming out of that pot that ordinarily would go to the community,” said Josh Green, a local spokesman for the bureau.

The mammoth effort only happens once every 10 years, so any undercount has long-term consequences.

And, Green noted, the bureau doesn’t share the information it collects with anyone, including other government agencies — a fear expressed by some residents, particularly those living in the country without documentation.

Workers need to be at least 18 and authorized to work in the U.S., they must apply online and will have to pass a background check and get fingerprinted. But, Green said, “anyone can do this job as long as you’re reliable and want to help.”

The bureau is looking for people willing to work both full-time and part-time, with a number of the hoursin the evening and on weekends when people are most likely to be at home. Speaking multiple languages is also a plus. The jobs generally last six to eight weeks, although the timeframe varies. Some people might be selected by December or January and asked to start as early as February, with others starting in the spring and summer.

“You’re spending a bunch of money on Black Friday,” Green said. “This is a good way to get some extra cash to pay off those credit cards.”

Workers will have to go through some training, but they will be paid for the time they spend learning the job.

With the 2020 census going online for the first time, the hiring spree is slightly smaller than in the past. The bureau hopes most people will fill out the census form online without too much prodding. But still, it’s no small feat.

Jobs with state and city governments are usually a source of stability in the U.S. economy, but the financial devastation wrought by the coronavirus pandemic has forced cuts that will reduce public services — from schools to trash pickup.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — OPEC and allied nations agreed Saturday to extend a production cut of nearly 10 million barrels of oil a day through the end of July, hoping to encourage stability in energy markets hard hit by the coronavirus-induced global economic crisis.